Blog Evaluation Task 1

In what ways do YOUR media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Choose 6 (which are most relevant to your video) of the following including ‘direct address’ finding
 Visually stylish – ‘artistic’ mise-en-scene
 ‘Rhythmic’ montage, fragmented style
 Inter-cutting
 Experimental use of camera/editing
 Fast pace
 Conspicuous lighting and cinematography – (high key lighting in prison)
 Often break the rules of continuity editing
 Direct address by performer
 Significant shots of band playing instruments/singing
 Significant shots of bands attractiveness
 Significant shot of bands USP – star image
 Back lighting
 Significant shots of promos key concept- (girls so crazy in love they kill)


Our music video ‘crazy in love’ uses the convention of direct address by the three performers looking into the camera to pull the target audience’s attention in and get them interested, although we have developed this by having them not look at the camera for too long in the medium close up and instead looking down or away. The girls look at the camera in a flirty manner, each making a different gesture, creating their own individual personalities within the group, making the band seem polysemic. As soon as the girls’ look at the camera in this way, they look away; enticing the audience in, as they feel a connection with the star. Another way we have developed this convention is by cutting the shots to a fast pace, so the audience only get a second of the performers direct address before it has cut back to a wide shot again. The fact our video is cut to a face pace also helps keep the audiences interested for longer. During post-production we have inter-cut the murder scenes and the mug-shots of the girls with the prison dancing and the jazz club performance so it all ties in well with the narrative of the video. The juxtaposition of the murdered man and the cheeky smiling girl creates a polysemic view of the band, making them seem complex and interesting to the audience, making them want to know more.

We chose to use high key lighting for the prison, as we felt this gave the girls a celestial quality, subconsciously encouraging the audience to look up to them as stars, relating back to Richard Dyer’s theory of star image. This is in keeping with the forms and conventions of real media products of this time period. Having the audience looking up to them in this way also creates a voyeuristic view of the girls, linking back to the girl’s flirtatious looks. Another convention we used to enforce the 50’s setting was the wipe into the opening shot of the girls on the stage, which was an iconic feature in media products of this time period. The opening shot of the girls on the stage enforces their star status and should create a preferred reading. We have emphasised the bands unique selling point, by including shots of their cheekiness and flirtatiousness for example them winking at the camera, or blowing kisses. We have also included examples of their power, with shots of the dead men juxtaposed with the cheeky/flirtatious mug shots, which again enforces the polysemic view of the band.